The Newham Recorder reports that the DLR extension which was due to open to the public last year will now be delayed until Spring this year.

The extension will join up the new Stratford International (which offers a high speed link to Kings Cross) with Stratford, West Ham and Canning Town – while adding new stations Stratford High Street, Abbey Road and Star Lane along the way.

Originally, we were told to expect the improvements to be ready to use by summer last year.

A TfL spokesman said:

This delay has been caused by joint venture contractors Skanska and Volker Rail taking longer than expected to progress some technical aspects of the project such as communications system design and installation.

The spokesman added that there is no danger of it not being ready before 2012, and that it will provide a lasting legacy for east London.

For now, though, if you want to get to Stratford International, you’ll need to get the bus from Stratford Regional.

Stratford DLR extension delayed until Spring 2011 is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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If you’re planning on getting tickets – and you should! – you can work what happens on each day, as well as working out how much it’s all going to cost.

See all of the information here.

Alternatively, the BBC’s Sport Editor blog has a good run-down of what will happen and when.

Update: And I’ve just found this gem. Find out the events you can watch for £20.

Tickets please! London 2012 event schedule released is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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Olympic Stadium: The latest reaction is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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An artist's impression of the Hammers in action in their new stadium

That’s that then. West Ham United will move into the Olympic Stadium after the Games (unless a dramatic last-minute intervention takes place).

For Newham, it’s a triumph – even if many locals don’t see it that way at the moment.

In a football sense, Tottenham would have undoubtedbly been the more lucrative option. They stand a very good chance of playing Champions League next season and for years to come, while even the most optimistic West Ham fan wouldn’t bet his worth that they’ll even be in England’s top flight next year, let alone Europe’s.

But Olympic legacy isn’t just football legacy. A football club doing well and making money is all well and good, but the fact is any well run football team, be they Premier League or League 2, can help its community so long as the systems are in place to make it as accessible as possible.

Critics will point to the £40m loan Newham Council granted West Ham as being an enormous and needless expenditure in the face of massive cuts in services.

But what the council have actually done is facilitate a development that means a happier, wealthier and more vibrant Newham. Precisely something worth spending money on (as opposed to, for example, a ridiculous set of designer lights…).

Sure, had Tottenham won the stadium, we’d have got a big(ger) team and some great live events courtesy of Millenium Dome-savers AEG. But that was it. Their desire to remove the running track made sense – it’s rubbish watching football behind one – but their solution, to redevelop Crystal Palace, would not only rob east London of a prized asset, but would also make a mockery of athletics development in the UK.

We would have been left with a football team playing there every second weekend, and never during the summer.

And, while AEG will provide some stunning shows, a quick search on the next ‘big’ show at the o2 Arena shows the cheapest available ticket to see Usher in concert comes in at a tasty £45 – out of reach of the majority of locals.

So there you have the sum of Spurs’ bid. A good football team, yes. But no other events aside from ones that are too expensive.

In contrast, West Ham’s bid has the community at its heart. As well as football, we’re likely to see cricket from Essex CCC, giving England the closest thing it has to its own MCG.

Its involvement with the council will mean that council-led events can take advantage of world-class facilities, a luxury that veteran east Londoners would hardly have believed even just a few years ago.

Above all, this decision has cemented the key first step in achieving a healthy legacy for east London.

Olympic Stadium: What the West Ham deal means for Newham is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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What would you do with this space?

Regular readers of The Olympic Borough will be familiar with Leezac Robinson and his quest to convert the disused North Woolwich Old Station into a centre for creative arts in east London.

A big part of his dream was to include the local community and skills to make his vision for the building a reality.

The first step of that is now underway.

Leezac’s group, The People’s Republic Film Society (TPRFS) are launching an architecture competition, the winner of which will see their design used to transform the station.

Open to University of East London students, the competition will be judged by Lord Patel and Renee Tobe from UEL, and Royal Docks councillor Patrick Murphy.

London-based MUF Architects are currently creating a design brief for students to work from.

As well as seeing their plans made a reality, the winning entry will also recieve a cash prize, as well a whole host of local and national press coverage of their achievement.

The winning entry will be announced at a ceremony later in the year at Dockside 1000. All plans submitted for the competiton will be exhibited for public viewing.

Leezac can be contacted by clicking here.

North Woolwich Old Station: Architecture competition for UEL students opening soon is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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http://bbc.in/ibyOMc

West Ham ‘win backing’ for Olympic Stadium is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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It mustn’t be forgotten that, as the Olympic Stadium decision draws near, the clubs have to convince more than just LOCOG about the benefits of being in the Olympic Stadium post-2012.

The supporters of both clubs – West Ham and Spurs – are tough to convince given that, like any club about to make a major stadium move, they are anxious about the drawbacks of moving away from their familiar stomping grounds.

To counter this, West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has been on a PR offensive. Not just to LOCOG and the media, but to Hammers’ fans as well.

The latest comes in the form of an email – sent to members of West Ham (or, like me, anyone who’s ever tried to buy a ticket online.). In it, she outlines key facts to set fans’ minds at rest:

• Our bid is financially sound and is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the club to grow
• Our sightlines stack up thanks to our amazing architects
• You will be able to see the ball whenever it’s in play unlike many other top stadiums
• State of the art technology including a world-class roof design will create an intimate atmosphere
• The stadium will be far more accessible with among the best transport links in the world
• Watching West Ham will be more affordable for you
• You will have great access and opportunity to see other sporting and cultural events at a discounted rate
• Facilities will be greatly improved and our stadium offers a 365 day destination for the whole family
• We will make this part of our history not at the expense of it – it’s a move ‘home’

Will it be enough to convince the West Ham faithful? I’m not sure. The concerns over the running track run strong. It won’t be as enjoyable as watching football at Upton Park.

But then – with poor attendances and poor results stacking up, you have to wonder if there are enough of the ‘faithful’ to sustain it.

An Olympic move would attract a whole new fan base. And as West Ham inevitably get relegated to the Championship (sorry guys), bumper attendances at the Olympic Stadium could be their only hope.

Upton Park in the second tier of English football could be a very quiet – but still expensive – place to visit.

Ms Brady’s full ‘Supporters’ Brief’ can be viewed here.

‘More affordable for you’ – West Ham trying to win over its fans on Olympic move is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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Café Olympic on West Ham Lane. (Picture: Google Streetview)

The Independent today carries a story following the plight of Café Olympic, West Ham Lane’s friendly spot now caught up in a disagreement with Newham Council and LOCOG over its name.

Algerian owner Kamel Khichane says he took advice from the council before re-naming the café some three years ago.

But now, as LOCOG moves to protect its sponsors, he may be forced to re-brand his café at a cost of, he estimates, £3,000.

From the Independent:

“We did not get written permission,” he conceded yesterday. “But the council said, ‘As long as the signs do not have the Olympic Rings on, it should be OK’.

Mr Khichane apparently falls foul of the ‘Olympic Symbol etc. (Protection) Act 1995′ which was amended after London won the games in 2006.

The act states that use of the Olympic name and symbols is strictly prohibited, along with certain protected words including Olympians, Olympiad, Games and 2012.

Intellectual property experts Marks and Clerk warn that: “Words such as London, gold, silver, bronze and medals used in conjunction with Olympic or 2012 could also infringe the 2006 Act.”

LOCOG insist that they “take a pragmatic and proportionate approach” to dealing with such cases and that in most cases education, not litigation, is the answer. Newham Council has also confirmed that it is looking into the case of Café Olympic.

Kirsten Gilbert, from Marks and Clerk, says:

“Businesses such as Café Olympic and its neighbours the Olympic Café and Olympic Internet need to be aware of the potential illegality of their names. Newham Council, as the local council to the Olympic site, must do its best to educate local traders to ensure that they are aware of the trade mark protection surrounding the Games.

“The case of Café Olympic serves as a warning to businesses hoping to benefit from the Games.”

UPDATE: Local blogger Kevin Blowe has gone into more depth on the 2006 Act which he says contains some worrying clauses:

The Act allows the government to regulate “advertising of any kind” in the vicinity of London Olympic events, even leaflets, posters, announcements or notices of “a non-commercial nature”. This includes “the distribution or provision of documents or articles” and “material which has or may have purposes or uses other than as an advertisement”. The could apply to leaflets handed out by anyone campaigning for the Games to give greater consideration for the concerns of local people about the Olympic legacy. Equally, although they’re harder to bump into than they once were, it could pose a few problems for far-left newspaper sellers in the Stratford area in 2012.

Café Olympic in name row as LOCOG cracks down on trade marks is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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Although all the attention right now is on what will happen to the Olympic Stadium, arguably more significance – particularly when it comes to securing job opportunities – is what will happen to the Broadcast Centre post-2012.

So far, we’ve heard it could be knocked down, or even may form part of David Cameron’s east London ‘Tech City’ idea.

But Paul Norman reports today on another bidder:

Malcolm Clulow’s Acer Snowmec, the company behind the world’s first indoor snow resort in Dubai, has approached the Olympic Park Legacy Company about taking over the £355m Hackney Wick complex after the Games.

The Birmingham-based group, formed in 1988, has designed and operated a series of pioneering indoor ski centres around the globe, including the 250,000 sq ft Ski Dubai centre, the Mills Meadowlands Xanadu in New Jersey and the Madrid Xanadu.

East London could really go downhill after 2012 (on skis that is!) is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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In many respects, the true legacy of the Olympics will be very difficult to measure.

But one story in which the knock-on effect seems pretty clear is here: UEL applications up by nearly three times the national increase

Keen to assert itself as London’s number one sports-led university, UEL secured a massive coup when it was announced the USA Olympic team would use their facilities during London 2012.

Now, the university has announced that applications have “shown a rise of nearly three times the national average, at 13 percent”. From the press release:

Significant increases in applications were shown for the University in management studies and many of the key creative industries. Design studies, combinations with creative arts and design, and journalism all showed significant increases on last year

Applications to Sports Science were also up by 25%, reflecting the University of East London’s ambition to become the number one university for sport in London. The University is currently building a £20million sports centre due for completion in early 2012 which will be used by the USA Olympic Team in 2012, and is already attracting world class athletes to study on many of its programmes.

Two team GB rowers, Alan Sinclair and John Preston, commence their studies in February 2011.

Alan said: “Straight away, UEL came across as the most supporting university when it came to its athletes. On first impressions it seems highly sympathetic towards all of its athletes’ ambitions.”

University of East London applications soar is a post from: The Olympic Borough

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